A Day at the Zoo
by fakegodsanddemigods
Summary: Jack Harkness decides that it's about time he gives Rose Tyler a surprise. It's not much, but a day at the zoo sounds like the perfect sort of date after long hours at Torchwood.


"Jaaaack. Can I take this off now?" Rose fingered the strip of cloth around her eyes with a pout. It wasn't that she didn't like surprises. That wasn't it at all. She was just impatient. And being impatient while waiting for a surprise just never seemed to work out very well. She always got a little more excited than she should…but with a blindfold on and Jack's hand in hers, how was she not supposed to be?

He let slip a chuckle and gave her hand a tight squeeze, his thumb turning soft circles against her wrist. "Be patient. We're almost there…you don't want to ruin the surprise. That's kill the fun and you know it."

Jack let his eyes fall over the tease of a smile that had found its way onto her lips and the way her hair bunched up under the bandanna tied across her face and he silently hoped he hadn't knotted any of it into the fabric. He couldn't help but chuckle, his lips turning upwards into a smile as he watched her. It was moments like that that reminded him of why she'd always been somewhere in the back of his mind. Moments where she seemed so innocent, so young, and so full of energy and life. Moments when she reminded him of how far they'd come since dancing in front of Big Ben. Giving this a chance…he'd made the right choice.

Rose nearly stumbled over a lip in the concrete and she felt Jack's arms come around her to keep her from tumbling to the ground and she tilted her head up, trying to see him through the fabric, an embarrassed blush creeping across her cheeks. "This is why you should let me see. I fall over everything. You should know better, Jack. You're going to let me get hurt." Guilt tripping…because guilt tripping worked on Captain Jack Harkness. And Rose was damn good at lying to herself.

He let out an undignified snort and scooped her up, shaking his head despite the fact that he couldn't see her. "Can't even wait a few more yards before you start complaining, Miss Tyler. You should be ashamed of yourself. And you call yourself a Torchwood operative…getting upset by tripping over concrete." A lilting tease slipped into his voice and he pressed his lips against her cheek.

Her cheeks grew warm and she turned her face into his chest, hiding her blush. "I could have broken my nose…" It was a weak argument and she knew it, but it was the best she had. Quite suddenly, she felt herself being sat down on something hard, her feet barely reaching the ground. And she felt Jack beside of her, pressed against her side as he reached over to undo the knot of her blindfold, his hands replacing it over her eyes. "What-?"

"I just wanted to make sure you saw it when I wanted you to see it…" Slowly, he removed his hands so that she was staring up at the entrance for Bristol Zoo Gardens. "See, now wasn't that worth the blindfold?" He smirked and stood to rummage through his pockets for a moment before pulling out two tickets and waving them at Rose. "I've paid ahead and everything…what are you waiting for Miss Impatient?"

With a giggle, Rose jumped to her feet and grabbed Jack's freehand to pull him along behind her. "Waiting for you, is what." She turned to look behind her with a grin as she tugged him inside, stopping only to take a look at the map before pulling Jack towards a pond. "There's something over here I think you might like!"

Jack's face lit up as they rounded the corner to see a duck pond with several ducks swimming along the surface and others waddling across the ground in front of them. There was just something about ducks…they made him grin. He looked down at Rose and tangled their fingers together before pulling her in for a tight hug, letting his arms fall around her waist as he held her to him. He lay his cheek against the top of her head, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "You're wonderful. I hope you know that, Rose Tyler. Absolutely wonderful."

She tilted to look up at him, her hair falling across her face as she giggled, her nose wrinkling. "Oh, I know I am." She grinned, her tongue between her teeth as she turned to look at the ducks. "What do you say we go see the rest of this place, then? We can look at the ducks more before we leave."

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." He dipped his head and pressed a kiss against her lips, firm but chaste, and whispered into the kiss, "And later…we can go dancing."


End file.
